NEWS

The Valdai Discussion Club, in partnership with the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), will hold the 3rd Russian-African conference titled “Realpolitik in a Divided World: Rethinking Russia-South Africa Ties in a Global and African Context” in late July 2025. The primary goal of the conference is to form and expand communities of African and Russian experts interested in cooperation, the confidential discussion of the most pressing international issues, and the preparation of recommendations for practical foreign policy work.

It is no coincidence that South Africa has been chosen as the venue for the Valdai’s conference. In 2025, South Africa chairs the G20 summit. In preparation for the upcoming late July conference, Steven Gruzd, Head of the African Governance and Diplomacy Programme and the Africa-Russia Project at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), offers an insight into the current Russia-South Africa relations, the United States trade issues with Africa, and Africa’s future prospects in this rapidly changing world. Here are the interview excerpts:

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) will host the 3rd Russian-African conference of the Valdai Discussion Club in South Africa. Within the context of the shifting geopolitics, what would you say, in terms of current Russia-South Africa relations, its status and prospects, as one of the themes for discussion?

Steven Gruzd: SAIIA looks forward to co-hosting the Third Russian-African Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club later in July 2025. We believe that it is important to interact and engage with a variety of actors in a balanced and nuanced way. We do not believe that academic boycotts are constructive.

The event is being held against the backdrop of rapidly shifting global geopolitics and the erosion of the “rules-based international order,” as nationalism is reasserted and conflicts endure in the Great Lakes in East-Central Africa and in the Middle East.

South Africa has maintained good relations with Russia throughout the last decade, although trade remains at a relatively low level and there is much scope to improve it. Diplomatically, relations are warm and constructive, and have been enhanced by regular interaction between the two countries in both BRICS and the G20. South Africa has tried to play a mediating role in Russia’s war with Ukraine, but here it has been one voice among many and does not have much concrete to show for these efforts, as the war rages on. Nevertheless, it remains a key driver of the African Peace Initiative. At the UN, most of South Africa’s votes on the Russia-Ukraine war have been abstentions, in line with its declared non-aligned stance.

To what degree are the few points raised above influencing or reshaping Russian-African relations? Do you also think Russia is rivaling and competing with its own BRICS members, for instance, China and India, across the continent?

SG: Russia-Africa relations have been steadily growing, as the two well-attended Russia-Africa Summits in 2019 and 2023 attest to. As Russia has faced sanctions and been shunned by the West, it has sought new markets and to strengthen ties with the Global South, including in Africa. Russia supported the membership of Egypt and Ethiopia to become full BRICS members at the 2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. The 2024 BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, was successful and added Algeria, Nigeria, and Uganda as “partner countries.” This was an important occasion for Russia to show that it was not internationally isolated and could still rely on many countries as friends.

The operations of the Wagner Group, especially in the Sahel, have been gradually subsumed under the Africa Corps of the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Russia has been strengthening bilateral relations with many African countries and is looking to provide peaceful-use nuclear technology to about 20 African countries. It is heavily involved in the building of a nuclear energy plant in Dabaa, Egypt.

Russia’s BRICS partners—China and India, but also the UAE and Saudi Arabia—are active on the African continent, but at this stage it seems that all are able to achieve their strategic objectives in Africa without coming into conflict with one another.

Do you view South Africa’s G20 presidency as a unique factor for fighting neo-colonialism and Western hegemony and for addressing thorny trade issues with the United States?

SG: South Africa’s G20 presidency is important. It remains the only African member state of the G20, although the African Union has joined as a full member since 2023. This is the first time that the G20 is hosted in Africa. As the president, South Africa has the ability to influence the G20’s agenda. It is the fourth developing country in a row to host the G20—after Indonesia (2022), India (2023), and Brazil (2024). It has continued several of the initiatives of these Global South states in its focus. South Africa’s priorities include strengthening disaster resilience and response, ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries, mobilizing finance for a just energy transition, and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development. The aim is for a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient global economy.

So far, the US has not sent its top leaders to preparatory meetings in South Africa, and there is doubt whether US President Donald Trump will attend the G20 Summit in November. This threatened to damage South Africa’s leadership, but the other G20 members have rallied to support South Africa.

I do not think that the G20 is the venue to “fight neo-colonialism, Western hegemony, and trade issues with the United States,” or at least not in using that language. I think BRICS may be a more appropriate platform to air these issues. South Africa will nevertheless push the concerns of the Global South this year.

Can South Africa’s presidency change perceptions of the G20’s role in global politics and its invaluable contributions to Africa’s development?

SG: I believe South Africa is doing well in its G20 stewardship so far and will hopefully host a successful summit, which has become especially challenging in the current geopolitical environment. If Trump does not attend, it will be damaging to the G20, particularly because the US is the host for 2026. South Africa’s relations with the US have deteriorated, including over Trump’s views on the treatment of white farmers, the expulsion of Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from Washington, and threatened high tariffs, among many other issues.

The summit will hopefully showcase South Africa and change perceptions about failed or failing African states. South Africa remains a key player in Africa, contributing to the continent’s development through peace efforts, trade, and political interactions.

But I also think South Africa should be and has been modest in its expectations of what the G20 can do during any one-year presidency. The G20 remains one of the few forums where Russia and the West still sit around the same table, and it has been challenging to reach consensus.

South-South cooperation is frequently resonating, as is the United States skipping the G20, Trump, and the new world architecture featuring in bilateral and multilateral discussions. Can African leaders change attitudes and face geopolitical development realities? Can Africa remain non-aligned? What then can we expect as future prospects, especially for Africa?

SG: There is no doubt that South-South cooperation is happening and being talked about more and more, and it is set to continue. The global environment is subject to profound geopolitical tensions, not least due to Trump’s “America First” policies, including high trade tariffs. The entire world of development assistance or foreign aid is likewise undergoing far-reaching changes. Trump has destroyed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), putting at risk or shutting down countless development projects in Africa. European countries—for a long time generous donors to Africa—are diverting billions of euros in development funding to defense and dealing with migration-related issues.

African countries will be under continual pressure to “pick a side” in what some have called the “New Cold War,” and for the most part they will continue to assert their non-aligned stances. How long they can continue on this path is unclear. And many say they are non-aligned but continue to lean closer to either the West or China and Russia in reality. African leaders are having to adjust to a rapidly changing and uncertain world, the contours of which are not entirely clear at this point. African leaders have been forced to deal with a world with less aid. Hopefully this will encourage African states to be more self-reliant, curb corruption, and pursue their national interests.

The ruling might set a precedent to allow prosecution of other government leaders linked to atrocities.

France’s highest court is set to rule on whether it can strip the state immunity of Bashar al-Assad, the toppled Syrian leader in exile in Russia, because of the sheer brutal scale of evidence in accusations documented against him by Syrian activists and European prosecutors.

If the judges at the Cour de Cassation lift al-Assad’s immunity on Friday, it could pave the way for his trial in absentia over the use of chemical weapons in Ghouta in 2013 and Douma in 2018.

It could also set a precedent to allow the prosecution of other government leaders linked to atrocities, human rights activists and lawyers say.

Al-Assad has retained no lawyers for these charges and has denied he was behind the chemical attacks.

The opposition has long rejected al-Assad’s denial, as his forces were the only side in the ruinous, nearly 14-year civil war to possess sarin.

A ruling against al-Assad would be “a huge victory for the victims”, said Mazen Darwish, president of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, which collected evidence of war crimes, quoted by The Associated Press news agency.

“It is not only about Syrians; this will open the door for the victims from any country and this will be the first time that a domestic investigative judge has the right to issue an arrest warrant for a president during his rule.”

He said the ruling could enable his group to legally go after government members, like launching a money laundering case against former Syrian Central Bank governor and Minister of Economy Adib Mayaleh, whose lawyers have argued he had immunity under international law.

Brutal crackdown

For more than 50 years, Syria was ruled by Hafez al-Assad and then his son, Bashar.

During the Arab Spring, rebellion broke out against their rule in 2011 across the country of 23 million, igniting a brutal civil war that killed more than half a million people, according to the the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Millions more fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkiye and Europe.

The al-Assad dynasty also fomented sectarian tensions to stay in power, a legacy driving renewed recent violence in Syria against minority groups, despite promises that the country’s new leaders will carve out a political future for Syria that includes and represents all its communities.

As the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for leaders accused of atrocities – such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza, and Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines – the French judges’ ruling could empower the legal framework to prosecute not just deposed and exiled leaders but those currently in power.

The Syrian government denied in 2013 that it was behind the Ghouta attack, but the United States subsequently threatened military retaliation, then settled for a deal with Moscow for al-Assad to give up his chemical weapons stockpile, opening the way for Russia to wield huge influence in the war-torn nation.

Al-Assad survived more than a decade longer, aided militarily by Russia and Iranian-aligned groups, including Hezbollah, before being overthrown by rebel groups.

US protest group Code Pink is targeting key politicians they say are involved in Israel’s starvation campaign in Gaza. The group has previously targeted former President Joe Biden and Senator Lindsey Graham over their support for Israel’s war.

Rescue teams race to find survivors after deadly school building collapse in western India.

At least four children have been killed and 17 others injured after the roof of a school building collapsed in India’s western state of Rajasthan, according to local reports.

The tragedy took place on Friday morning shortly after daily prayers at a government-run school in Barmer district. Authorities say about 25 to 30 students were inside the classroom when the ceiling suddenly gave way.

Local police believe the building’s deteriorating structure, worsened by recent heavy rainfall, may have caused the collapse. “Some of the injured are in critical condition,” senior police officer Amit Kumar told the Press Trust of India.

Rajasthan’s education minister, Madan Dilawar, said he had instructed officials to oversee the medical treatment of the injured and ensure families receive support. “I have directed the authorities to make proper arrangements and to oversee the injured children’s treatment, and to ensure they do not face any kind of difficulties,” he told AajTak news channel.

Dilawar added that a formal investigation would be launched to determine the exact cause. “I have also spoken to the collector and directed authorities to take stock of the situation and help in whatever way possible,” he said.

Footage broadcast on Indian television showed locals and emergency workers using cranes to clear debris as anxious parents looked on. The sound of relatives wailing could be heard near the site.

Rescue efforts were ongoing late into the day. Local media said 32 students had been pulled out alive so far, though some were severely injured.

“Instructions have been given to the concerned authorities to ensure proper treatment for the injured children,” Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said in a statement on X.

Rajasthan, known for its extreme weather, has experienced intense monsoon rains in recent weeks, raising concerns over the safety of ageing infrastructure in rural schools.

Whittaker is a former UFC middleweight champion who has won 17 of his 23 fights since joining the promotion in 2012.

He is currently fifth in the UFC’s middleweight rankings, demonstrating sporting longevity at the top which is matched by few.

Although Whittaker says regaining the title – which he lost to Israel Adesanya in 2019 and is now held by Du Plessis – remains a goal, it his not his biggest driver any more.

“I’ve got nothing to prove, there’s just things that I’m working for. I’m leading by example for my kids and any other athlete that wants to look up to me,” says Whittaker.

“I’ve been in the game so long, what drives me to be better and push as hard as I do, is the kids.”

De Ridder is fighting in only his fourth UFC bout after joining the organisation last year.

He is 34 like Whittaker, but has spent much of his career in fellow MMA promotion One Championship, where he is a former middleweight and light-heavyweight champion.

“De Ridder is going to be looking to pressure me and take me down to the ground and make me uncomfortable,” said Whittaker.

“I want to get my hands on him and hope for a quick one but I’ve been training for a 25-minute slugfest.”

The bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities using advanced bombers and massive ordnance marked a turning point in Donald Trump’s presidency, a man who came to power vowing to end “endless wars” and to withdraw the U.S. from its role as global policeman. With the announcement of a ceasefire between Iran, Israel, and the U.S. in June 2025, brokered by Oman under heavy international pressure, serious questions have emerged: Was the attack a tactical show of force meant to drag Iran back to the negotiating table, or a step toward broader conflict? Is Trump seeking lasting peace, or is he tempted by the drama of a military triumph? And can he leverage this fragile truce to return to diplomacy, or will he stay the course of escalation?

Trump entered the White House in 2016 by sharply criticizing the Iraq War and the massive costs of U.S. military involvement in the Middle East. He even justified the 2020 assassination of Qassem Soleimani as a measure to prevent war. At the time, he passionately declared, “We are no longer the world’s policeman.” But the June 2025 bombing campaign, nicknamed “Operation Midnight Hammer”, reflected a clear shift in his approach. The operation, which targeted Iran’s Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow sites, reportedly caused serious damage to the country’s nuclear program, according to U.S. sources. However, it was launched without congressional approval or broad international support.

Analysts believe several factors drove this decision: the perceived weakening of Iran following the depletion of its proxy forces in Syria and Lebanon; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push for U.S. military involvement against Tehran; and Trump’s need for a symbolic military “win” to bolster his domestic position amid growing anti-immigration protests and waning support among younger Republicans.

Yet, the ceasefire announced on June 24, 2025, facilitated by Oman and quietly backed by European powers and China, signaled that Trump may still be looking to contain the conflict. Reactions to the attack and subsequent truce have revealed deep divisions among Trump’s base and the international community. Steve Bannon, a staunch Trump ally, criticized the move as a betrayal of his anti-war promises, saying it was exactly what Trump had pledged never to do. Conservative figure Charlie Kirk warned that such conflicts could quickly spiral out of control. On social media, Trump supporters voiced concern about military spending and the potential for a drawn-out entanglement. Far-right commentator Jack Posobiec stressed that young Republicans prioritize fixing America’s domestic problems, like the economic crisis and social instability, over military adventures in the Middle East.

Global reactions were even harsher. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the strike as a violation of international law. The International Atomic Energy Agency warned that attacks on nuclear sites could have catastrophic environmental and humanitarian consequences.

The greater danger still looms. Bombing a country, without a ground invasion, rarely leads to peace. Iran, with its large population, complex military structure, and advanced missile and cyber capabilities, is not Iraq or Libya. A single miscalculation could unravel the ceasefire and plunge the region into deeper instability. If Iran retaliates, whether through asymmetric warfare or pressure on U.S. allies, the risk of escalation is high.

Trump still has the chance to change course. He could frame the strike as a final warning and use the ceasefire as a springboard back into diplomacy. A narrative like “We’ve shown our strength, now it’s time for peace” might resonate both domestically and abroad. But if he continues down the path of pressure, broadening the mission from containing Iran’s nuclear program to altering its behavior—or even regime change, he risks falling into the very trap he once called “the stupid wars of the Middle East.”

The success of the ceasefire and a return to diplomacy could solidify Trump’s legacy as a peacemaker. Its failure, however, may seal the end of his political career.

Israel’s leadership views its 12-day war with Iran last month as a success – several Iranian military leaders were killed, Iran’s defensive military capabilities were weakened, and the United States was convinced to take part in a raid on the Iranian nuclear site at Fordow.

But while Israeli leaders were quick to claim victory, they emphasised that they were ready to attack again if necessary, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying he had “no intention of easing off the gas pedal”.

And Israel is already looking for the next opportunity to wage another devastating conflict aimed at bringing down the Islamic Republic in Iran, analysts told Al Jazeera.

However, to do so, it would require the ‘permission’ of the US, which may not be willing to give it.

Back in mid-June, a surprise Israeli attack led to the war, in which more than 1,000 Iranians and 29 Israelis were killed.

Israel justified the war by claiming that it was acting preemptively and in “self-defence” to take out Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran has long said is for civilian purposes.

Speaking to Al Jazeera earlier this week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed doubt over how long the current ceasefire will remain in place.

“We are fully prepared for any new Israeli military move, and our armed forces are ready to strike deep inside Israel again,” he said.

Cause for war

Despite Israel’s emphasis that it was targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, it mainly assassinated high-ranking government and military officials, indicating a clear attempt to weaken and possibly bring down the regime.

Trita Parsi, an expert on Iran and the cofounder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, a left-wing US think tank, believes Netanyahu is looking for an opportunity to resume that mission.

“The reason the Israelis want to attack again … is because they want to make sure they turn Iran into the next Syria or Lebanon – countries Israel can attack anytime with impunity,” he told Al Jazeera.

Israel’s next opportunity to muster up a pretext for a war could come after European countries reimpose debilitating sanctions on Iran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reported to have held a call with his counterparts from Germany, France and the United Kingdom earlier in July, in which they agreed that United Nations Security Council sanctions would be reimposed if a new nuclear deal was not agreed upon by the end of August.

The sanctions had been lifted when Iran and several Western countries agreed on a nuclear deal in 2015.

The US pulled out of that deal two years into President Donald Trump’s first term in 2018 and restored sanctions as part of a maximum pressure campaign. Now, European parties to the deal could do the same, and that could prompt Iran to walk out of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, warned Parsi.

“That would provide [Israel] with a political window to [attack again],” he told Al Jazeera.

Meir Javedanfar, Iran lecturer at Israel’s Reichman University, added that Israel would nevertheless have to muster up or present credible intelligence that suggests Iran is rebuilding or repairing its nuclear programme.

He warned that, “to launch such an attack, Israel would need the agreement of the United States and its President Trump”, permission he regarded as less likely in light of US concern over Israeli attacks on Syria.

Israeli operations

While Israeli strikes on Iran may not be imminent, a report in The New York Times on Wednesday suggests that it is carrying out covert operations responsible for sudden explosions and fires across the country.

The paper cited three informed officials and a European diplomat who attributed the apparently random fires and explosions at apartment complexes, oil refineries, near an airport and a shoe factory, to acts of sabotage likely carried out by Israel.

“I think Benjamin Netanyahu has found a formula where it is able to attack Iran with impunity despite pushback from Donald Trump,” said Negar Mortazavi, an expert on Iran with the Center for International Policy (CIP), a think tank based in Washington, DC.

Any ongoing covert operations are a result of Israel’s extensive infiltration of Iranian security and infrastructure that became apparent during the early stages of the June conflict, with individuals targeted through what was presumed to be teams of local intelligence operatives and drones launched against Iranian targets from within Iranian territory.

There was no evidence to suggest that Israel’s network within Iran had ended with the war, analyst and Iran expert Ori Goldberg said.

“Israel has built a robust [security] system within Iran and, like all such systems, its muscles need flexing occasionally,” he said from Tel Aviv. “Sometimes this isn’t for strategic reasons, so much as tactical ones. As soon as you have infrastructure or people in place within another country, you have a limited time to use them, so if that’s setting fires or setting detonations, it’s a way of keeping them active and letting Iran know they’re there.”

Likelihood of new war

Few could have predicted the complete absence of restraint with which Netanyahu, previously a figure considered to be somewhat averse to conflict, has attacked neighbouring states, Syria and Lebanon, as well as regional actors, such as Yemen and Iran, while maintaining his brutal assault upon Gaza.

But while a renewed offensive upon Israel’s historical bogeyman, Iran, might prove popular in the face of growing internal division over Israel’s war on Gaza, how well received it might be by his principal ally remains to be seen.

“Trump is a concern and Israel will want to keep on the right side of whatever line he’s drawn [on its actions],” Goldberg said. “But Iran is a consensus issue within Israel. People might argue about Gaza, but never Iran. If Netanyahu feels himself under threat, he’s going to want to crack the Iranian whip and unify people behind him.”

Iran, for its part, won’t be caught flat-footed a second time, say analysts.

Mortazavi told Al Jazeera that Iran is expecting Israel to continue its aggression, even as it still holds out hope to reach a deal on its nuclear programme through diplomacy.

“I think they know that a deal will reduce the chances of an Israeli attack,” she said.

At least 62 people have been killed, including 19 who were seeking aid, in Israeli attacks across Gaza, hospital sources told Al Jazeera, and two people died from malnutrition amid growing international outrage over Israel’s conduct in the war.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that at least 115 Palestinians have starved to death in the enclave since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023. Most of the deaths, which include many children, have been in recent weeks.

Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza in March and has only allowed a trickle of aid into the territory since late May, triggering a dire humanitarian crisis and warnings of mass starvation.

In a statement on Thursday, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned that “families are breaking down” amid the hunger crisis.

“Parents are too hungry to care for their children,” agency head Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X. “Those who reach UNRWA clinics don’t have the energy, food or means to follow medical advice”.

The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, added that Israel has been preventing it from verifying aid waiting at distribution centres.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said the situation was deteriorating, with Palestinians clamouring for any aid they can find.

“Enforced starvation, enforced dehydration, and hunger are gripping the Gaza Strip, with more people reported with malnutrition and a severe, acute shortage of food supplies and other basic necessities,” he said.

“According to what we hear from health sources, people’s immune systems are falling apart. They’re unable to fight the many diseases that are spreading because their bodies are unable to fight,” he said.

With dire conditions on the ground largely unchanged, international condemnation has continued to grow.

On Thursday, more than 60 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) demanded an emergency meeting to push actions against Israel in a letter sent to European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Lynn Boylan, an Irish member of the European Parliament, accused EU leaders of a double standard when it comes to Palestinian lives.

“Clearly, Palestinian lives are not seen by the elite in the EU as equivalent to, for example, Ukrainian lives,” Boylan told Al Jazeera.

“There’s a chilling effect, that if you dare to speak up against Israel, if you dare to call out the war crimes that you’re witnessing, there is immediately a backlash and an attack,” she said.

Outrage among European leaders has also soared in recent days, with 28 countries earlier this week condemning the aid blockade, while calling for an immediate end to the fighting.

On Thursday, the United Kingdom’s government announced Prime Minister Keir Starmer would hold a call with his German and French counterparts, to “discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need”.

Breakdown in talks

As the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to spiral, negotiations to end the war again broke down, with US envoy Steve Witkoff announcing that his team was leaving negotiations in Qatar early.

That came shortly after Israel announced it was withdrawing its delegation from the talks.

In a statement, Witkoff accused Hamas of showing “a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire”.

“We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza,” Witkoff said, without elaborating.

Hamas, which has repeatedly accused Israel of blocking a ceasefire agreement, said it was surprised by Witkoff’s remarks.

“The movement affirms its keenness to continue negotiations and engage in them in a manner that helps overcome obstacles and leads to a permanent ceasefire agreement,” said Hamas in a statement released late on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has continued to push for a deal, while simultaneously supporting the displacement of Palestinians from the enclave to nearby countries, in what would potentially constitute ethnic cleansing.

France to recognise Palestine

Late on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced he would officially recognise the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Macron said the decision was “in keeping with [France’s] historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East”.

The move will make France the largest and arguably most influential country in Europe to recognise a Palestinian state.

The move was hailed by the deputy of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who said it showed France’s “commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state”.

Israeli officials swiftly condemned the move, with Defence Minister Israel Katz calling it a “disgrace and a surrender to terrorism”.

“We will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian entity that would harm our security, endanger our existence, and undermine our historical right to the Land of Israel,” he said.

Company says 2.5-hour disruption of high-speed internet service was due to ‘failure’ of internal software services.

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet has suffered one of its biggest international outages, knocking tens of thousands of users offline, a rare disruption that prompted an apology from senior executives, including founder Elon Musk.

Starlink, which has more than six million users across roughly 140 countries and territories, suffered the disruption on Thursday that lasted for about two hours and 30 minutes, according to Michael Nicolls, Starlink’s vice president of Starlink Engineering, in a post on X.

The outage was a rare hiccup for SpaceX’s most commercially sensitive business that had experts speculating whether the service, known for its resilience and rapid growth, was beset by a glitch, a botched software update or even a cyberattack.

Users began experiencing the outage at about 3pm on the United States’ East Coast (19:00 GMT) on Thursday, according to Downdetector, a crowdsourced outage tracker that said as many as 61,000 user reports to the site were made.

“The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network,” Nicolls explained in his post.

“We apologise for the temporary disruption in our service; we are deeply committed to providing a highly reliable network, and will fully root cause this issue and ensure it does not occur again,” he said.

Musk also apologised: “Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” the SpaceX CEO and founder wrote on X, which he also owns.

SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2020, building a uniquely distributed network in low-Earth orbit that has attracted intense demand from militaries, transportation industries and consumers in rural areas with poor access to traditional, fibre-optic-based internet.

Starlink has focused heavily in recent months on updating its network to accommodate demands for higher speed and bandwidth.

France will officially recognise a Palestinian state in September, President Emmanuel Macron has said.

In a post on X, Macron said the formal announcement would be made at a session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“The urgent need today is for the war in Gaza to end and for the civilian population to be rescued. Peace is possible. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” he wrote.

Palestinian officials welcomed Macron’s decision, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move “rewards terror” following Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack in Israel.

In his Thursday post on X, Macron wrote: “True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine.

“We must also guarantee the demilitarisation of Hamas, and secure and rebuild Gaza.

“Finally, we must build the State of Palestine, ensure its viability, and ensure that by accepting its demilitarisation and fully recognising Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the Middle East. There is no alternative.”

Macron also attached a letter to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming his decision.

Responding to Macron’s announcement, Abbas’ deputy Hussein al-Sheikh said “this position reflects France’s commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state”, according to the AFP news agency.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu wrote in a post on X: “We strongly condemn President Macron’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the 7 October massacre.

“A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel – not to live in peace beside it. Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel,” Netanyahu added.

Hamas said France’s decision was a “positive step in the right direction” and urged all countries of the world “to follow France’s lead”.

Currently, the State of Palestine is recognised by more than 140 of the 193 member states of the UN.

A few European Union countries, including Spain and Ireland, are among them.

But Israel’s main supporter, the US, and its allies including the UK have not recognised a Palestinian state.

In a statement on Thursday, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he will hold an “emergency call” with French and German leaders on Friday to discuss “what we can do urgently to stop the killing”.

Statehood is an “inalienable right of the Palestinian people”, Starmer said, adding that a ceasefire would “put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution”.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry praised France’s decision, saying it “reaffirms the international community’s consensus on the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state”.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the attack on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 59,106 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble since then.

Earlier on Thursday, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) said that one in five children in Gaza City was now malnourished and cases were increasing every day.

More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have also warned of mass starvation in the Gaza Strip – pressing for governments to take action.

Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into the Palestinian territory, has repeatedly said that there is no siege, blaming Hamas for any cases of malnutrition.

With growing activity across decentralized apps, NFT platforms, and a fresh wave of meme coin launches, analysts say a Solana run to $300 isn’t out of the question. If the trends from six months ago are replicated, we could see a new all-time high for SOL, a record previously set at $294 in January this year.

Much of the momentum this cycle is again tied to meme coins, and with the launch of platforms like LetsBONK, Solana’s part in the meme coin economy is increasing rapidly. As over 40,000 new tokens launch each day on Solana, most are destined to fail, some are scams, but a few deliver big returns.

Snorter Bot (SNORT) is emerging as an indispensable automated trading bot aimed at sniping that 1% of meme coins that make it big. With sub-second speed, tools to block honeypots and rugpulls, and over $2 million raised, the Snorter Bot presale is grabbing attention as the top new utility project in Solana’s meme coin space.

Solana’s $300 Target a Reality as Meme Coins and DeFi Projects Multiply

In a game-changing development, tokenized stocks have recently gone live on Solana, enabling users to purchase their favorite stocks, such as Tesla, Nvidia, or Amazon, without requiring a traditional brokerage account. Users can buy these tokens on Jupiter or any other DeFi platform on Solana, using a variety of assets, including USDC and SOL, as well as meme coins like BONK and PENGU.

Even the technical charts point to further gains for SOL. A popular Solana analyst, jussy, predicted that Solana could push towards $263 if it breaks resistance at $180. Having just crossed $190, a continuation of its rise towards high $250s could give SOL further momentum to break the magical $300 mark.

The recent rise of ETFs paints SOL’s new climb towards an ATH in a completely different light. Now, with Solana ETFs attracting $78 million in inflows within a few days of their launch and new institutions filing for a Solana ETF, the door to boundless capital from traditional investors has been wide open.

But nothing moves the charts like meme coins. Tokens like BONK and PENGU recently overtook TRUMP as the two largest meme coins on Solana. Bonk’s launchpad LetsBONK is seeing a surge in revenue, too, and it consistently pushes past $400 million in 24-hour trading volume.

The meme meta is what drove Solana to its all-time highs at $294, and it appears that the meme meta will be instrumental in propelling Solana to $300 this time.

However, over 40,000 meme coins are being created daily on the Solana blockchain. It’s chaos where most of the coins have no future. A recent report from Solidus Labs flagged widespread rugpulls and pump-and-dump activity across more than 98% of the tokens launched via Pump.fun, another meme coin launchpad on Solana.

But within that chaos, there’s also an opportunity, as a small percentage of golden goose tokens can return life-changing upside. Around 300 of these elusive coins reach bonding within 24 hours and continue to the next phase, according to the Jup Pro analytics platform.

To survive the trenches and thrive, manual trading and gut feeling may no longer be enough. That’s where Snorter Bot comes in. This Telegram-native bot features automated tools designed to collect the best coins at launch and uses built-in protection against honeypots and rug pulls, providing retail traders with an edge that was long overdue.

Could Snorter Become the Next Big Solana Token?

As the name suggests, Snorter Bot is a trading bot built for Solana. It’s native to the Telegram app, meaning it transforms the chat app into a full crypto trading terminal where users can snipe meme coins and swap tokens with MEV protection.

The bot delivers sub-second execution speed thanks to its own RPC architecture, enabling its users to outspeed platforms like Jupiter. Additionally, the bot offers rugpull and honeypot detection mechanisms which have proven an 85% effectiveness in eliminating scams and malicious tokens.

Another useful feature is its portfolio tracker, where users can easily monitor their cost basis, PnL, and open positions without resorting to an external app or site. And that’s the beauty of its Telegram integration: there’s no need for complex wallet setups or a flood of browser tabs, it’s all within the chat app.

Initially, Snorter Bot will begin operation on Solana. However, the team plans to expand to EVM-compatible chains, such as Ethereum, BNB, Polygon, and Base. There it will be able to capture an even larger portion of the meme coin market and simplify cross-chain meme coin trading for its users.

SNORT Token Cranks the Features Up to Eleven

The SNORT token is a utlity token used to power and manage Snorter Bot’s wide array of features. It’s multi-chain token, available on both Solana and Ethereum, and gives its holders premium access to unlimited token snipes and advanced portfolio analytics.

For those looking for passive income opportunities, holding SNORT unlocks staking rewards, as well as copy trading capabilities, an extremely welcome feature that is rarely seen outside of centralized exchanges. With Snorter Bot, users can copy the traders of their favorite trader while keeping their assets in a non-custodial wallet.

Snorter Bot also leads the way in fees. With SNORT, users can enjoy fees as low as 85%, a considerable discount from the full 1.5%, whereas standard industry fees often go up to 2%.

The analysts at 99Bitcoins see fundamental value in the SNORT token and believe it can take a serious share of the meme coin market.

Snorter Token Next 10X Potential Crypto?! NEW Solana Meme Crypto Trading Bot!!

Why SNORT Could be the Top Solana Meme Coin

Most meme coins offer no tools, no product, and rarely any use beyond price speculation. Snorter Bot flips that model by building real trading infrastructure in a market where speed and protection matter more than ever.

With LetsBONK and Pump.fun showing that the Solana meme coin moment could experience its biggest charge yet, bots like Snorter could become the core tools for traders looking to discover the next big coins and turn a profit. And with over $2 million raised in its presale, this is one of the top Solana projects right now.

Interested investors can buy SNORT using SOL, ETH, BNB, USDT, USDC, or a bank card. Visit the Snorter Bot presale site and connect your wallet to make the purchase. Early investors can increase their holdings while the presale lasts by staking for a dynamic yield of 186%.

Alternatively, download Best Wallet and buy SNORT from the Upcoming Tokens tab.

Visit Snorter Bot Presale

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. ModernDiplomacy.eu is not a licensed crypto-asset service provider under EU regulation (MiCA). Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and involve significant risk. Always conduct your own research and consult a licensed advisor before making any investment decisions.

United States President Donald Trump arrived at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington to tour the site of a $2.5bn renovation of two historical buildings, which the White House criticises as overly costly and ostentatious, as tensions escalate between the administration and the independent overseer of the nation’s monetary policy.

Thursday’s rare presidential visit to the Fed is happening less than a week before the central bank’s 19 policymakers gather for a two-day rate-setting meeting, where they are widely expected to leave the US central bank’s benchmark interest rate in the 4.25-4.50 percent range.

Trump has repeatedly demanded that the Fed lower rates by 3 percentage points and has frequently raised the possibility of firing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, though the president has said he does not intend to do so.

On Tuesday, Trump called the Fed chief a “numbskull”.

On Thursday, Trump publicly scorned Powell for the cost of an extensive building renovation as the two officials began a tour of the unfinished project.

Trump said the project cost $3.1bn, much higher than the Fed’s $2.5bn figure, while Powell, standing next to him, silently shook his head.

“This came from us?” Powell said, before he figured out that Trump was including the renovation of the Martin Building, which was finished five years ago.

“Do you expect any more additional cost overruns?” Trump asked.

“Don’t expect them,” Powell said.

Trump said in his career as a real estate developer, he would fire someone for cost overruns. The president joked that he would back off Powell if he lowered interest rates.

“I’d love him to lower interest rates,” Trump said, as Powell stood by, his face expressionless.

Powell typically spends the Thursday afternoon before a rate-setting meeting doing back-to-back calls with Fed bank presidents as part of his preparations for the session.

Elevated by Trump to the top Fed job in 2018, and then reappointed by former President Joe Biden four years later, Powell last met with Trump in March when the Republican president summoned him to the White House to press him to lower rates.

The visit takes place as Trump battles to deflect attention from a political crisis over his administration’s refusal to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing a campaign promise. Epstein died in 2019.

White House officials have ramped up Trump’s pressure campaign on Powell in recent weeks, accusing the Fed of mismanaging the renovation and suggesting poor oversight and potential fraud.

White House budget director Russell Vought has pegged the cost overrun at “$700m and counting”, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for an extensive review of the Fed’s non-monetary policy operations, citing operating losses at the central bank as a reason to question its spending on the renovation.

Those losses stem from the mechanics of managing the Fed’s policy rate to fight inflation, which include paying banks to park cash at the central bank. The Fed reported a comprehensive net loss of $114.6bn in 2023 and $77.5bn in 2024, a reversal from years of big profits it turned over to the Treasury when interest rates – and inflation – were low.

Renovations in the spotlight

The Fed, in letters to Vought and lawmakers, backed up by documents posted on its website, says the project – the first full rehab of its two buildings in Washington since they were built nearly a century ago – ran into unexpected challenges, including toxic materials abatement and higher-than-estimated materials and labour costs.

Ahead of Trump’s visit, Fed staff escorted a small group of reporters around the construction sites. They wove around cement mixers and construction machines, and spoke over the sound of drills, banging and saws. Fed staff pointed out security features, including blast-resistant windows, that they said were a significant driver of costs, in addition to tariffs and escalations in material and labour costs.

The renovation project started in mid-2022 and is on track to be completed by 2027, with the move-in planned for March 2028. A visit to the roof of the Eccles Building – a point of particular scrutiny by White House critics that the renovations were ostentatious – revealed an impressive view of the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall, the pool report said.

Staff explained that rooftop seating, although inexpensive, had been removed because of the appearance of it being an amenity and was one of only two deviations from the original plan. The other was the scrapping of a couple of planned fountains.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, a Republican who sent Powell a letter on Wednesday asking a series of questions about the cost and other details of the renovation, as well as Powell’s own statements about it, is part of the visit as well.

Market reaction to Trump’s visit was subdued. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds ticked higher after data showed new jobless claims dropped in the most recent week, signalling a stable labour market not in need of support from a Fed rate cut. Stocks on Wall Street were mixed.

Trump’s criticism of Powell and flirtation with firing him have previously upset financial markets and threatened a key underpinning of the global financial system: that central banks are independent and free from political meddling.

His visit contrasts with a handful of other documented presidential visits to the Fed. Then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited the central bank in 1937 to dedicate the newly-built headquarters, which is one of the two Fed buildings now being renovated. Most recently, former President George W Bush went to the Fed in 2006 to attend the swearing-in of Ben Bernanke as Fed chief.

Central bank independence critical

“I think it’s important that he send a signal that he really isn’t happy with how things are going at the Fed,” said Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee. She said the visit was a “good decision” by Trump.

Senator Mike Rounds, another Republican who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, said on Thursday he also saw no problem with Trump’s visit, though he added that Powell’s independence as Fed chief is “critical for the markets. I think he’s done a good job of that”.

“I think the more information the president can glean from this, probably the better off we are in terms of resolving any issues that are outstanding,” Rounds said, noting that Powell had indicated “that they have had a significant amount of money, just in terms of foundation work and so forth, that was not anticipated to begin with”.

Former Fed chiefs Janet Yellen and Bernanke this week wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times warning that the public’s belief that the US central bank is willing to make hard decisions based on data and independent of politics “is an important national asset. It is hard to acquire and easy to lose”.

Economic experts widely agree.

“As we’ve seen through the disinflation process that has been taking place over the last few years, the credibility of central banks around the world has been instrumental in anchoring inflation expectations and in bringing down inflation across many countries in the world,” International Monetary Fund spokesperson Julie Kozack said on Thursday.

“And it is also important that independence, of course, must coexist with clear accountability to the public.

Amid a rally that’s seen the crypto market cap hit $4 trillion for the first time, JP Morgan is now moving toward crypto-backed loans, signaling that its anti-crypto stance is quietly melting away.

The move reflects a shift in how US banks view crypto, with the approvals of GENIUS Act and Clarity Act at last week’s Crypto Week also fueling positive sentiment. Crypto investors are well aware of this institutional pivot and so are exploring opportunities to maximize their gains in the weeks ahead.

With it looking like a new altcoin season is imminent, which cryptocurrencies could benefit the most from the increasing institutional adoption? We take a closer look at JP Morgan’s move and explore four of the best cryptos to buy amid this development.

JP Morgan Eyes Crypto Loans

JP Morgan may start lending directly against crypto assets, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to a report by The Financial Times. The loans are expected to be finalized by 2026, although this is subject to change.

However, an unidentified source told The Financial Times that JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s previous remarks about the crypto industry have alienated some potential clients.

Dimon has been critical about crypto in previous years, with the exec even calling it a “scam” in 2018. However, he appears to finally be succumbing to positive sentiment fueled by ETFs, regulatory clarity, and increased investor demand.

“The same banks that laughed in 2017? They are positioning now,” wrote Wise Advice on X.

Indeed, it’s another step toward the full integration of digital assets into the traditional finance (TradFi) sector, something that could bolster the crypto industry’s credibility and adoption. This could drive substantial gains for investors who position correctly.

As such, here are four cryptos that could benefit the most from the news:

Bitcoin Hyper

However, Bitcoin is limited in terms of speed, fees, and functionality. Transactions take around 60 minutes to finalize, fees can cost over $100, and the network is primarily limited to sending and receiving functions. That’s why the Bitcoin layer 2 blockchain, Bitcoin Hyper, could be the best crypto to buy now.

It’s a Bitcoin-aligned blockchain with sub-second finality, dirt-cheap fees, and smart contract support. The blockchain is built using the Solana Virtual Machine, meaning Solana developers can port their apps to the network in minutes. And Bitcoin Hyper does not sacrifice security or decentralization. Transactions are reported to L1 in batches, ensuring immutability and long-term security.

The project is currently undergoing a presale and has raised $4.1 million to date, demonstrating significant investor interest. With Bitcoin spearheading the current rally by recording a new all-time high last week, sentiment around the BTC ecosystem is bullish.

And as institutional appetite for Bitcoin rises, we could well see the $HYPER price surge once it lists on exchanges in the near future. Visit Bitcoin Hyper.

Arbitrum

While Bitcoin Hyper may offer the strongest option among Bitcoin L2s, Arbitrum is winning in the Ethereum realm. It’s an Ethereum L2 built using Optimistic Rollups technology, which allows for the submission of transaction batches back to Ethereum in a single transaction, making it cheaper and faster than using Ethereum L1 directly.

Arbitrum’s total value locked has surged by almost 50% since April, rising from $2 billion to $2.9 billion. There are also over $3 billion worth of stablecoins on the Arbitrum network. This is dry powder that could be invested in $ARB or ecosystem tokens as the bull market unfolds.

It’s worth noting that the project has also seen substantial TradFi adoption recently, with eToro announcing it will launch its tokenized stocks trading platform on the app.

Similar to Bitcoin Hyper, increasing institutional appeal in Ethereum will drive users to seek out aligned infrastructure with heightened transactional capabilities. We can already see remnants of this playing out with eToro’s app plans. That’s why $ARB has rallied 74% this month.

TOKEN6900

TOKEN6900 is a new meme coin highlighting the absurdity of modern finance. JP Morgan FUDed Bitcoin below $50,000, only to offer it to clients at $120,000. Money printers are on (brrr,) and meme coin prices are skyrocketing. It’s peak brain rot season.

TOKEN6900 is a meme coin that, rather than pulling you away, aims to help you capitalize on this absurdity. It follows in the footsteps of SPX6900 – which hit a new all-time high last week and is up over 1,000% since last year – and vies to deliver huge gains on what it calls “collective meme-fueled delusion.”

However, while SPX6900 is currently worth $1.8 billion, TOKEN6900 is undergoing a presale. The presale is rapidly approaching the $1 million raised milestone, reflecting strong demand but also leaving massive room for growth.

However, the $T6900 presale has a $5 million hard cap. This means investors must act quickly or risk missing out, especially given the current bullish conditions in the market. Visit TOKEN6900.

Solana

Solana made a name for itself with its meme coin infrastructure, featuring tokens like Bonk, Dogwifhat, and OFFICIAL TRUMP, alongside platforms like Pump.fun, which created a vibrant rail for light-hearted speculation.

But Solana is more than a home for joke tokens. It’s an increasingly popular asset for institutional players. BlackRock and Franklin Templeton migrated their tokenized money market funds to the chain this year, and the Solana Foundation secured a partnership with R3, allowing clients such as HSBC and Barclays to utilize the network.

R3’s website emphasized that the move provides Solana with access to broader liquidity and a new investor pool, while offering TradFi players the benefits of Solana’s DeFi ecosystem. These benefits include access to regulated real-world assets (RWAs) and new yield opportunities.

Currently, Solana trades at $199, having rallied by 4% today despite the broader market trading at breakeven. $SOL has also flipped BNB to become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency, underlining its strengthening position in the market.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. ModernDiplomacy.eu is not a licensed crypto-asset service provider under EU regulation (MiCA). Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and involve significant risk. Always conduct your own research and consult a licensed advisor before making any investment decisions.

Ukrainian leader faces domestic international pressure after signing law critics say curbs the powers of the country’s anitcorruption agencies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has submitted a new draft bill to the country’s legislature, in an effort to calm outrage over a previously passed law that critics say paves the way for corruption.

The country’s anticorruption agencies quickly hailed the bill’s introduction on Thursday, saying it would restore their “procedural powers and guarantees of independence”.

The Ukrainian leader has contended with protests and condemnation from both within Ukraine and from its closest European allies after a separate controversial law was passed on Tuesday.

That law placed the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) under the direct authority of the country’s prosecutor general – a position appointed by the president.

Zelenskyy initially maintained that the law was needed to respond to suspected “Russian influence” within the agencies amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Critics, however, said the law would strip the bodies of their independence and could allow political interference, while failing to address any potential Kremlin-linked operatives.

On Tuesday, thousands of Ukrainians defied martial law – which has been in place since the beginning of Russia’s war – to take to the streets of Kyiv and other major cities to protest against the law.

European officials also questioned the law, noting that addressing corruption remains a core requirement both for Ukraine’s future European Union membership and in assuring aid flows to combat Russia.

Amid the pressure, Zelenskyy backed away from the new law, promising to submit new legislation that would assure “all the norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions will be in place” and that there would be no Russian “influence or interference”.

Opposition lawmakers have also separately prepared their own legislation to revoke the law passed on Tuesday.

“They heroically solved the problems that they created just as heroically. Grand imitators,” Yaroslav Zhelezniak, from the opposition Holos party, said on Telegram, criticising Zelenskyy and his allies about-turn.

Before the new draft bill’s introduction, Zelenskyy spoke with the leaders of Germany and the United Kingdom on Thursday.

In a statement, Zelenskyy’s office said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had “offered to involve experts who could contribute to long-term cooperation” on the issue.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said he invited Friedrich Merz to “join the expert review of the bill”.

“Friedrich assured me of readiness to assist,” he said.

It was not immediately clear when Ukraine’s legislature, the Verkhovna Rada, would vote on the new bill.

Booking tumbled in the summer months as consumers pulled back on travel expenses

American Airlines has restored its full-year outlook as broader economic uncertainty continues to weigh on domestic consumer demand across the travel industry.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier on Thursday offered a wide range for its full-year forecast on the heels of its earnings report, saying the broader economic uncertainty is hobbling consumer spending. The airline had suspended financial guidance in April.

The airline says it expects an adjusted loss per share of 20 cents a share to a profit of 80 cents a share in 2025. The midpoint of the forecast is 30 cents per share, compared with analysts’ average estimate of 61 cents a share, according to LSEG data.

American, which generates more than two-thirds of its passenger revenue from the US domestic market, said that if domestic travel demand continues to strengthen, it expects to hit the top end of its outlook. But if the economy weakens, it only expects to be at the bottom end of the forecast.

“The domestic network has been under stress because of the uncertainty in the economy and the reluctance of domestic passengers to get in the game,” CEO Robert Isom told analysts on an earnings call.

American said tepid domestic travel demand affected its bookings in July. Isom, however, said the performance is expected to improve sequentially in August and September.

“We expect that July will be the low point,” he said.

The company expects its domestic unit revenue, or revenue generated from each seat, to remain lower year-over-year in the third quarter. Its non-fuel operating costs are estimated to be up as much as 4.5 percent in the September quarter.

American expects an adjusted loss per share in the range of 10 cents to 60 cents in the third quarter, compared with analysts’ estimates of a loss of 7 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company’s outlook contrasts with upbeat forecasts of rival Delta and United Airlines. Alaska Air Group has also reported improvements in passenger traffic and pricing power.

Most US airlines withdrew their financial forecasts in April as President Donald Trump’s trade war created the biggest uncertainty for the industry since the COVID-19 pandemic. While some have reinstated their expectations, there is lingering uncertainty as to how the economy will fare in an ever-evolving tariff landscape.

Demand in the domestic travel market has remained subdued, with budget travellers approaching their plans with caution, hurting carriers that primarily service the US domestic market and price-sensitive customers.

Even summer, typically the peak money-making season for airlines, is falling short this year, with unsold standard economy seats forcing carriers to cut fares.

It dented the second-quarter earnings of Southwest Airlines, the largest US domestic airline.

At American, the domestic market was the weakest in the second quarter, with its unit revenue declining 6.4 percent from a year ago. The company’s unit revenue in international markets was up, led by a 5 percent annual jump in the transatlantic market.

On Wall Street, the stock is taking a hit and was down 7.2 percent from the market open as of 11:30am in New York (15:30 GMT).

Family handout

Family handout

‘Last phone call’

Reuters

‘No evidence of assault’

‘Off his head’

Reuters

‘Did not steal’

Warned him

The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) has condemned the recent surge in violence in Djugu territory. This includes lethal attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in Ituri and North Kivu, leading to the deaths of civilians.

In a statement issued in Kinshasa on July 23, MONUSCO expressed strong condemnation of the recent attacks by the Convention pour la Révolution Populaire (CRP) armed group against the DR Congo army. They denounced the ongoing deadly assaults by the ADF, which have resulted in the deaths of 82 civilians in the Ituri and North Kivu provinces.

The UN organisation raised concerns regarding the ADF attacks that occurred from July 8 to 9, in the northeastern regions of Eringeti and Irumu within Ituri province. These attacks were a retaliatory response to joint operations conducted by the Congolese army and the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) against an armed group in the area, resulting in the tragic loss of 47 civilian lives. In light of these events, MONUSCO has offered heartfelt condolences to the affected families and communities, reiterating the UN Secretary General’s call for foreign armed groups to lay down their weapons and return to their countries of origin without conditions.

“The actors of this violence, whoever they are and whatever their motivations, must account for their acts before the competent jurisdictions. We call on armed groups which are signatories to the Aru II peace accord in Ituri to fully respect their engagements, notably by observing without delay the cessation of hostilities and to prefer peaceful channels in the resolution of conflicts,” Bruno Lemarquis, assistant special representative of the UN Secretary General in DR Congo and interim chief of MONUSCO, declared. “We equally exhort all the other armed groups active in the province to lay down their arms in conformity with calls by the Congolese authorities and the international community.”

The global organisation also condemned the attacks on civilian populations that occurred on July 21 in Djugu. It specifically denounced the looting and desecration of the Catholic parish of Lopa, which has been attributed to the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) armed group. The organisation emphasised that these attacks targeted places of worship, schools, health centres, and hospitals, thereby constituting serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights.

“MONUSCO encourages the provincial authorities to continue to promote dialogue between all communities in Ituri in order to reduce tensions. It reaffirms its constant engagement in favour of dialogue, social cohesion and the search for lasting solutions for peace in the Eastern DR Congo. It remains fully mobilised on the side of the Congolese authorities and the local communities in order to reduce tensions, protect civilians and support the stabilisation efforts in the affected zones,” the MONUSCO statement noted.

Ituri province has been the site of armed violence and inter-communal conflicts for several years. This violence persists despite an agreement reached on June 28 between six local groups: CODECO, Zaire/Auto-Defence, MAPI, the Patriotic Resistance Front of Ituri (FRPI), the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) militant group, and Chini Ya Tuna. The accord aimed at ceasing hostilities was signed in Aru, a village near the border with Uganda, northeast of Bunia, the provincial capital. This agreement was facilitated within the framework of the Aru II dialogue, which had the support of the Congolese government and international partners.

Following the signing of the bilateral peace accord between the DR Congo and Rwanda, six armed groups have agreed on a truce in the northeastern part of the DR Congo. The UN mission in Congo has saluted the crucial progress and called on armed groups that refused to sign the agreement to join the peace process.

Ethereum has broken past $3,800 for the first time since December 2024, driven by major whale accumulation and a growing pipeline of technical upgrades. The upcoming Fusaka fork, expected in November this year, is a key step toward Ethereum’s next phase of scalability, while developers are already gearing up for Glamsterdam, a major execution-layer upgrade after Fusaka.

Behind the scenes, institutional firms are quietly amassing ETH, betting big on the future of decentralized finance and Ethereum’s role as its core infrastructure. On-chain data shows whales and institutions have accumulated 681,103 ETH (worth over $2.5 billion) since July 1, according to Lookonchain.

Meanwhile, XRP has solidified its position as the third-largest crypto by market cap, hovering just shy of its all-time high, at $3.50. The rise of Ripple’s crypto comes after favorable regulatory calls, which opened new institutional doorways into XRP, including a ProShares XRP leveraged ETF.

Together, these moves have pushed the CMC Altcoin Season Index to 57, up from 12 in April of this year. Historically, when Ethereum outperforms Bitcoin, altcoins follow. Capital rotation from BTC to altcoins comes next, and often new tokens gain unprecedented momentum, sometimes reaching all-time highs.

We reviewed four popular cryptocurrencies that could define this altseason. Each of our choices offers different utility and thesis, making them suitable for different investor and trader profiles.

Snorter Bot (SNORT)

With the growing number of meme coin launches on Solana, traders desperately need tools to stay on top of a chaotic market. Snorter Bot offers what many meme coin traders have been calling for: automated sniping tools and lightning-fast execution ready at hand.

To ensure the bot doesn’t aim at any rotten apples, it comes equipped with advanced rugpull and honeypot detection. Protective measures like these have become paramount in an environment where over 98% of all meme coins launched on Pump.fun exhibited rugpull and pump-and-dump characteristics.

SNORT token holders also pay 0.85% transaction fees for operating the bot, compared to the 1.5% paid by users who don’t own the token. Additionally, token holders unlock the bot’s complete feature set, which includes unlimited snipes and copy trading. The latter can be an excellent tool for automatically replicating the trades that are making pro traders a fortune.

The experts at Cryptonews believe this is an easy 100x thanks to Snorter Bot’s fast and secure swaps, limit orders, and copy trading, the full potential of which is only possible with SNORT.

$SNORTER BOT IS THE BEST BOT ON SOLANA?! EASY 100X GAINS WITH $SNORTER?!

Snorter Bot has already raised over $2 million in its presale and offers a dynamic yield of 186% for those who stake the token. With the growing number of meme coin launches during the altseason, demand for valuable tools is likely to increase, and SNORT is well-positioned to benefit from this trend. Visit Snorter Bot Presale.

Jupiter (JUP)

Jupiter is one of the largest DeFi platforms of Solana with nearly $3 billion in total value locked (TVL), according to DeFillama. This is one of the most profitable platforms with an annualized revenue of $224 million as of June 2025.

That’s not surprising given how fast the project has grown. What started as a simple price aggregator is now a fully-fledged ecosystem that offers fast token swaps with recurring purchases and limit orders, advanced manual meme coin trading (on Jup Pro), and a perpetual futures platform.

While users can trade ETH, SOL, and BTC with leverage on the Perps platform, it’s still far from the level of Hyperliquid, which offers faster execution and a significantly wider range of cryptocurrencies to trade. Despite that, it shows what the team is capable of if they decide to expand on their offering.

JUP is the governance token of Jupiter that incentivizes voting by rewarding voters with more JUP tokens. In the past, JUP voters also received allocations from all tokens that launched via the Jupiter launchpad, including Zeus and DeBridge.

Recently, a partnership between Jupiter and Huma Finance allowed JUP stakers to participate in the HUMA presale at a fixed price of $0.0075. Currently, HUMA trades at $0.03858, giving presale investors a return of over 400%. Rumors suggest that a similar scenario could unfold with the upcoming Meteora token launch, where JUP stakers will receive a presale allocation with conditions similar to those of the HUMA presale.

Emijaop.Turbo, an analyst on X, predicts JUP will trade at $3 before the end of the year, which would represent a 400% increase from current prices.

TOKEN6900 (T6900)

TOKEN6900 is a new meme coin presale that latches onto and aims to outperform its peer, SPX6900. With a parodic view of both the financial and cryptocurrency markets, suggesting that we’re past the stage where trading makes sense, it caters to those disillusioned with the absurdity of modern finance.

Unlike other meme coins that offer, or pretend to offer, some utility, TOKEN6900 promises nothing. There’s no roadmap to look forward to, no utility, and no promises. This meme coin thrives simply on “Vibe Liquidity.”

And while it has nothing to offer but memes and the chance to be part of something that could potentially become epic, TOKEN6900 does pay out staking rewards during its presale. A dynamic yield of 66% could be enough for early investors to increase their holdings without making new purchases.

Borch Crypto, a popular crypto YouTube analyst, believes T6900 could explode soon because it features the same vibes and humor as SPX6900 and could attract a similar profile (and number) of investors.

Crypto Presale Alert: Why T6900 Might Explode Soon [URGENT] 🚀

Once the presale ends, the token will list at $0.007125 with a hard cap of $5 million. Compared to the nearly $2 billion market cap of SPX6900, T6900’s value is a drop in the ocean, giving it enormous potential to grow. TOKEN6900 has already raised close to $1 million in its presale, showing strong demand. This might be a second chance for anyone who missed SPX6900. Visit TOKEN6900 Presale.

Hyperliquid (HYPE)

Hyperliquid is the most popular decentralized perpetual exchange, aiming to bridge the gap between centralized exchanges and DeFi. It offers near-instant trading with zero gas fees, no wallet connect popups, and a clean UI.

These features have been made possible thanks to its own Layer-1 blockchain, which doesn’t rely on Ethereum or Solana to execute orders. This means the platform isn’t bottlenecked by congestion issues or architectural design choices on other chains.

The platform supports direct deposits from over 30 chains, and users gain access to spot, margin, and perpetual futures. Hyperliquid gained popularity in the past few months thanks to James Wynn, a prominent crypto trader who turned $4 million into $90 million, before losing it all while trading BTC with 40x leverage.

HYPE is the platform’s native token, providing governance rights, while also being used to cover gas fees on the Hyperliquid blockchain. While there are staking rewards, the rate is low, around 2%, and may not be suitable for all investors.

CHARLiE, a crypto analyst on X, predicts HYPE will soon trade at the $52 zone, maintaining a bullish trend.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. ModernDiplomacy.eu is not a licensed crypto-asset service provider under EU regulation (MiCA). Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and involve significant risk. Always conduct your own research and consult a licensed advisor before making any investment decisions.